The U.S. Army will collaborate with the U.S. Navy, Pratt & Whitney and two universities under a cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) to modernize military aircraft engine designs with the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
The Army said Wednesday the partnership came after its researchers conducted a review of published studies on the fundamental physics of engine performance over the past decade.
The University of Maryland at College Park, University of Cincinnati and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology's Institute of Thermal Turbomachinery in Germany worked with the service branch during the literature review.
“We see that the interactions between engine components are often missed in contemporary models and this has a profound impact on predicting unsteady engine performance,” said Luis Bravo, an Army researcher.
He noted that the review redirected their focus on looking at critical propulsion issues and applying AI/ML developments.
Military, industry and academic researchers participating in the CRADA aim to develop modeling, simulation and mitigation approaches to protect military or commercial aircraft's gas turbine engines from microparticles in harsh environments that affect propulsion system performance.
On Aug. 12th, the Potomac Officers Club – a division of Executive Mosaic – will hold its 6th Annual Army Forum, where leaders from the GovCon and government communities will share their insight on the service branch's technology programs. Visit the POC Events page to sign up for this virtual forum and view other upcoming events.
